When runners hastened to the starting line for the inaugural Elkmont Half Marathon in Alabama on January 16, they had no idea they would be up against some pretty unusual competition. That is, they didn't know April Hamlin's too-cute-for-words bloodhound named Ludivine would be along for the run.

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"[We] had let her out of her pen the night before and that's where she ended up," Hamlin wrote on Facebook after the race.

The pup showed up to the starting line and — most likely feeling the spirit — started off running with the other 165 runners in the race.

Gregg Gelmis, who founded the regional running group We Run Huntsville, said Ludivine was off to a fast start, placing second at the half-mile mark. "The next time we saw her was at 8 miles in the aid station," he wrote on his website. " By this time she had fallen back to fourth place, but still looked good."

This is all despite Ludivine's pit stops to eat some roadkill rabbit, grab a drink from the creek and, of course, stop alongside the trail for a couple of potty breaks.

Ludivine was given a participation medal for her efforts (she finished with a final time of 1 hour, 32 minutes and 56 seconds, making her the "unofficial" seventh place winner). She curled up with her ribbon when she promptly took a well-earned nap following her taxing run.

"Rumor has it, next year's race will be called the Hounddog Half, with a special award going to seventh place," Gelmis wrote on the half-marathon's website. "Who knows, maybe Ludivine will return to challenge the front runner!"